1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to buoyancy compensators for scuba divers. More particularly, this invention relates to buoyancy compensators comprising a vest fitted about the diver""s torso for supporting an air cylinder and a bladder assembly connected to the vest for inflation with air from the air cylinder to achieve neutral buoyancy during diving.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exist many types of buoyancy compensators designed to allow a scuba diver to achieve neutral buoyancy during diving. The earliest types of buoyancy compensators consisted of an inflatable bladder positioned in a life vest to be slipped over the diver""s head and to lay against the diver""s chest. An oral inflation tube was provided to allow oral inflation of the buoyancy compensator by the scuba diver to achieve neutral buoyancy during diving. As illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,898,705 and 4,000,534, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein further improvements included providing a power inflator which inflated the bladder with air from the air cylinder. Unfortunately, life-vest styled buoyancy compensators tended to ride up the diver""s chest and obstruct the diver""s view and freedom of movement. To overcome this disadvantage, improved buoyancy compensators positioned the inflatable bladder in a backpack vest so that the vest, when inflated, would not obstruct the diver""s view or freedom of movement (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,263, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein).
As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4523,914, 4,778,307 and 4,810,134, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein, another approach to minimizing the obstruction of the diver""s view and freedom of movement included constructing the bladder in an integral suit-vest configuration with the bladder extending smoothly throughout the front and back section of the vest. However, unlike backpack-styled buoyancy compensators, suit-vest configurations do not include a replaceable bladder that could be replaced in the event of damage or deterioration.
Backpack-styled buoyancy compensators have been widely accepted in the trade and have been further improved to include a separate vest for fitting about the diver""s torso to support the air cylinder and a bladder assembly connected to the vest. U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,589, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein, illustrates one specific backpack-styled buoyancy compensator. In another, such as the one manufactured by the assignee of this invention, the separate vest further includes a cummerbund for a more comfortable fitting about the diver""s waist.
The foregoing buoyancy compensators were typically manufactured in limited sizes (e.g., small, medium, large and extra large). Adjustable shoulder and waist straps were provided to provide some adjustability. However, the vest was not otherwise adjustable to accommodate scuba divers with different physiques. Thus, a xe2x80x9clargexe2x80x9d size vest was forced to fit, for example, both a diver with a taller torso and a diver with a shorter torso, even though their physiques are significantly different. Hence, there existed a need in the market for a backpack-styled buoyancy compensator that included a vest that was adjustable for tall, medium and short-torso heights.
In satisfaction of this need, a buoyancy compensator with a detachable shoulder section was invented by the inventors of the same assignee of the subject invention. This buoyancy compensator with its detachable shoulder section is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,941, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein. The invention as set forth in this patent disclosed a buoyancy compensator vest as comprising a back section which supports the air cylinder via the tank straps, a waistband section, having left and right side portions for removably fitting about the diver""s waist, and a shoulder section having a horizontal portion and left and right shoulder sections for positioning over the diver""s shoulders to then be connected to the left and right portions of the waistband section. The removability of the shoulder section from the back section allowed shoulder sections of different torso heights to be fitted to the back section so as to provide a comfortable and custom fit of the vest to the height of the diver""s torso. For example, a diver having a tall torso height may be properly fitted with the vest by utilizing a shoulder length having a longer length. Conversely, a diver having a shorter torso height may be properly fitted with a vest by utilizing a vest having a shoulder section of a shorter length.
The foregoing buoyancy compensator with its detachable shoulder section has been widely commercialized throughout the scuba industry with substantial success. Unfortunately, as described above, the detachable shoulder section is the component of the compensator which accommodates for divers having taller or shorter torso lengths. However, because the shoulder section in its preferred embodiment comprises a one-piece design, the length of the shoulder straps are not independently adjustable relative to the shoulder section itself. Hence, while it readily accommodates for taller and shorter torso heights, it does not accommodate for large, medium or small chest sizes wherein longer or shorter shoulder straps, respectively, would be desirable to more comfortably fit over the diver""s shoulders and down along the diver""s chest. Hence, there presently exists a need in the industry for a backpack-styled buoyancy compensator having a vest that is adaptable to tall, medium and short torso lengths as well as to large, medium and small chest sizes.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the buoyancy compensator art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a buoyancy compensator having a vest that is adaptable to tall, medium and short torso lengths.
Another object of this invention is to provide a buoyancy compensator having a vest that is adaptable to large, medium and small chest sizes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a buoyancy compensator having a vest that is adaptable to tall, medium and short torso lengths as well as to large, medium and small chest sizes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a buoyancy compensator comprising a vest including left and right side portions, the vest further including a back section, a torso section, left and right shoulder sections and left and right waistband sections; means for adjustably connecting the torso section to the back section; means for adjustably connecting the shoulder sections to the torso section; and means for adjustably connecting the waistband sections to respective side portions of the back section.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
For the purpose of summarizing this invention, this invention comprises a buoyancy compensator for supporting an air cylinder to the back of a scuba diver. More particularly, the buoyancy compensator of the invention comprises a vest to be worn about the diver""s torso and an inflatable air bladder assembly interconnected to the vest by means of tank straps which rigidly secure the air cylinder to the vest in a backpack configuration. Preferably, the inflatable air bladder assembly comprises a horseshoe-shaped configuration positioned over the cylinder with the sides of the air bladder assembly being positioned along the opposing sides of the air cylinder so as to not obstruct the diver""s view or freedom of movement.
The vest of the buoyancy compensator comprises a back section, an adjustable torso section, adjustable shoulder strap sections connected to the adjustable torso section and adjustable left and right waistband sections. More particularly, the adjustable torso section of the invention is vertically adjustable to the inside back of the vest. The vertical adjustment of the torso section relative to the vest allows the height of the buoyancy compensator to be easily adjusted. Increased vertical length is desirable for accommodating the physique of a scuba diver such that the buoyancy compensator can be easily fitted to scuba divers having taller or shorter torso heights. The adjustability of the strap sections to the torso section accommodates scuba divers having larger or smaller chest sizes such that the buoyancy compensator may be adjusted to easily fit over the diver""s shoulders and down the diver""s chest. Finally, the adjustability of waistband sections accommodates scuba divers having larger or smaller waist sizes such that the buoyancy compensator may be easily adjusted to fit scuba divers with larger or smaller waist sizes.
The adjustability of each of the sections of the buoyancy compensator of the invention achieves a one-size-fits-all buoyancy compensator such that a comfortable and custom fit of the buoyancy compensator to scuba divers of various physiques can be easily accomplished. The one-size-fits-all aspect of the buoyancy compensator of the invention allows easier manufacturing, distribution and retail sale to the scuba divers as there is no longer a need to manufacture, distribute or stock buoyancy compensators of many different sizes.
More specifically, the versatility of the adjustable sections of the buoyancy compensator of the invention allows the buoyancy compensator to be fitted to the scuba divers of various physiques that may differ from the typical xe2x80x9cstandardxe2x80x9d sizes of small, medium, large and extra large. Specifically, the buoyancy compensator of the invention may be easily adjusted to fit a scuba diver having a tall and thin physique or to one that may have a tall yet more stocky physique. Thus, the versatility of the adjustable of the buoyancy compensator of the invention significantly improves the comfortability and accuracy of the fitting to the scuba diver.
An ancillary feature of the buoyancy compensator of the invention is the ability to mix or match different colored sections to provide a more aesthetically pleasing and marketable buoyancy compensator to the scuba diver. For example, the shoulder straps of one color may be combined with waistband sections of a different color and with a vest of still a third color.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood so that the present contribution to the art can be more fully appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.